Savoring the Ordinary: Taiwan’s Everyday Flavors

The main ingredients of vegetarian zongzi are sticky rice and peanuts. Wrapped in shell ginger leaves and steamed, they are usually drizzled with special thick soy sauce provided by vendors. These dumplings are often found on breakfast tables in Tainan.
(photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Runbing are a type of spring roll bursting with Taiwanese flavors. An abundance of ingredients, such as refreshingly crisp cabbage, bean sprouts, braised pork, and shredded tofu, are rolled into a diaphanous wrapper. Runbing are a traditional staple at Qingming Festival, but they’re also a common and affordable snack people enjoy in their everyday lives. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Changhua City is renowned for braised pork over rice. Featuring perfectly braised pork leg or belly, and carrying the rich aroma of soy sauce and a touch of sweetness, this is an everyday delicacy locals enjoy day or night.
(photo by Kent Chuang)

Douhua, or tofu pudding, is made from ground soybeans. With a delicately silky texture, it is served with peanuts, azuki beans or tapioca balls. It is refreshingly cooling in summer yet warming in winter. Douhua is a common dessert that has captured many people’s hearts. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Deep-fried until it acquires a golden, crispy crust, stinky tofu is tender and juicy inside. Accompanied with tangy pickled cabbage and special sauces, it strikes the palate with powerful, multi-layered flavors—a captivating night-market treat that tests the courage of first-time eaters. (photo by Kent Chuang)